Contributors

Episode 83: Fellows in Action

What do Isaac Newton, yeast, and Harold Urey have in common? They all come under the research microscope of Chemical Heritage Foundation fellows. In today’s episode of Distillations we invited a few of our friendly fellows to discuss their work. John Ceccatti talks about yeast, vital to beer and biotech, and about why the question of whether yeast is alive took such a long time to answer. Evan Ragland takes us back to Newton’s time and to a suburban backyard in his recreation of Newton’s alchemical experiments. And no, he didn’t manage to turn lead into gold (at least, not this time), but he did create some powerful chemicals still in common use today. Finally, Matthew Shindell gives us a glimpse of one of the 20th century’s most fascinating scientists, Harold Urey, and his transformation from Manhattan Project scientist to commentator on humanity’s place in the universe. Chemical Agent: Yeast.